Learn how to get directions from someone
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Jessi: Are you lost in Latin America? My name is Jessi and Karen and I will be hosting the rest of this Absolute Beginner Series. |
| Karen: That’s right. |
| Jessi: So, Karen, what are we going to learn in this lesson? |
| Karen: In this lesson, we’re going to learn how to get directions and how to give directions as well, something that’s very important. |
| Jessi: Where does this conversation take place and who is it between? |
| Karen: The conversation takes place at a university and it’s been Sergio and a student. |
| Jessi: Let’s listen to the dialogue. |
| DIALOGUES |
| Estudiante: ¿Estás perdido? |
| Sergio: Un poco. Busco el departamento de historia. |
| Estudiante: Pasando la cafetería, a tu izquierda. |
| Sergio: Ya sé dónde. Gracias. |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Estudiante: ¿Estás perdido? |
| Sergio: Un poco. Busco el departamento de historia. |
| Estudiante: Pasando la cafetería, a tu izquierda. |
| Sergio: Ya sé dónde. Gracias. |
| English Host: And now, with the translation. |
| Estudiante: ¿Estás perdido? |
| Jessi: Are you lost? |
| Sergio: Un poco. Busco el departamento de historia. |
| Jessi: A little. I'm looking for the History Department. |
| Estudiante: Pasando la cafetería, a tu izquierda. |
| Jessi: Through the cafeteria, to your left. |
| Sergio: Ya sé dónde. Gracias. |
| Jessi: Now I know where. Thank you. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Jessi: Speaking of getting and giving directions, I think we can say that people in Spanish-speaking countries are very friendly and will most likely help you without a problem. |
| Karen: Mm, yeah. I noticed that when I traveled, I had a lot of strangers helping me get to different places and they’re really nice about helping lost tourists. |
| Jessi: Yes, that’s right. Many times, they will even go out of their way to help you. |
| Karen: That’s really nice, especially when you’re in a place where you’re not familiar with anything. |
| Jessi: That’s right. It helps a lot when others try to help you. At the same time though, you do have to be careful and aware of your surroundings. |
| Karen: Right, that’s something that we all need to keep in mind, especially if you’re a tourist. |
| Jessi: There are very nice people out there, but not everyone is like that. |
| Karen: On the other hand, if you end up being on the streets and are totally lost, go and ask someone how to get to your destination. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed to do that. |
| Jessi: I agree. |
| Karen: Just remember that it’s always better to plan where you’re going. And if possible, get directions before leaving the hotel or the place you’re staying. Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Jessi: The first word is… |
| Karen: perdido(-a) [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: lost |
| Karen: perdido(-a) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karen: perdido(-a) [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: Next is… |
| Karen: un poco [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: a little |
| Karen: un poco [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karen: un poco [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: Next we have… |
| Karen: buscar [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: to seek, to look for |
| Karen: buscar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karen: buscar [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: Next is… |
| Karen: pasar [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: to pass, to go by, to come by |
| Karen: pasar [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karen: pasar [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: Last, we have… |
| Karen: cafetería [natural native speed] |
| Jessi: cafeteria, coffee shop |
| Karen: cafetería [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Karen: cafetería [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Karen: Let’s take a look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is, perdido, lost. This is perdido in the masculine form and perdida is the feminine form. |
| Jessi: Right. And is the past participle of the verb perder, which means “to lose.” In the dialogue, it was used in the question ¿Estás perdido? which means, “Are you lost?” |
| Karen: Yes. And again, let’s remember that perdido ends with an “O” because it’s talking about a male person. |
| Jessi: Now, if we were talking about a female person, it would be perdida. And one more thing, if we wanted to say, “we are lost” or “they are lost,” we would have to add an S at the end to make it plural. |
| Karen: So it would be “perdidas” or “perdidos.” |
| Jessi: Right. Next we have, un poco “a little.” Here, un poco is translated as “a little” or “a bit.” |
| Karen: Right. It can actually be translated in other ways as well, depending on how it’s used. But most of the time, it means “a little” or “a bit.” So when the student asked Sergio, ¿Estás perdido?, “Are you lost?” Sergio says, un poco “a little.” Maybe he was just a little too proud to just say yes and admit it. Okay. And next |
| Jessi: Buscar |
| Karen: “To look for.” This is an -AR verb, a really common one too. |
| Jessi: In the dialogue, buscar is used in the first person singular, busco. |
| Karen: Right. So, “busco” here literally means “I look for,” but it translates to “I’m looking for.” And whatever you’re looking for comes right after. |
| Jessi: Busco el departamento de historia. |
| Karen: “I’m looking for the History Department.” And next we have. |
| Jessi: pasar |
| Karen: “to pass, to pass through” |
| Jessi: Now, pasar means “to pass.” In the dialogue, the gerund is used, which is pasando. |
| Karen: Right. So here it means “passing” or “passing through.” |
| Jessi: For now, we’ll just look at this translation, but pasar can be translated differently as well. |
| Karen: And lastly, we have |
| Jessi: cafetería |
| Karen: “cafeteria” |
| Jessi: Cafetería can refer to different things, depending on what country you’re in. |
| Karen: Right. And in this conversation, they’re on a college campus and so, it refers to a cafeteria like a lunch room. But be careful with the pronunciation. |
| Jessi: cafetería |
| Karen: In the English word, we tend to stress the T-E-R in the middle, cafeteria. But in Spanish, it’s, one more time. |
| Jessi: cafetería |
| Karen: Right, cafetería. Okay, let’s move on to the grammar point. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Karen: In this lesson, you’ll learn some useful phrases for getting and giving directions. First, let’s talk about how to say that you’re lost. |
| Jessi: Yes, because this is important to know. So for talking about yourself, you can say “Estoy perdido” or “Estoy perdida,” if you’re a female. |
| Karen: Right. And this means “I’m lost.” We have estoy, which is the first singular form of estar, which is used when talking about states. |
| Jessi: Right. Estoy perdido. |
| Karen: So, that’s how you can say that you’re lost. How can you tell someone what you’re looking for? |
| Jessi: Well, in that case, you can use the verb we learned earlier and say busco and then the place you’re looking for. Together, this means “I’m looking for (blank).” |
| Karen: Let’s look at some examples. |
| Jessi: Busco la avenida La Paz. |
| Karen: And it means “I’m looking for La Paz Avenue.” |
| Jessi: Or how about - Busco el banco. |
| Karen: “I’m looking for the bank.” |
| Jessi: Yes, of course you can ask where something is using ¿Dónde está? and then the place you’re looking for. And that means, “Where is (blank)?” Simple, right, listeners? Now, let’s try one with ¿Dónde está? ¿Dónde está la avenida La Paz? |
| Karen: And this means “Where is La Paz Avenue?” Oh, and here’s a common one. ¿Dónde está el baño? |
| Jessi: Ah, “Where is the bathroom?” |
| Karen: I think almost everyone learns this when they first start learning Spanish. Now, here are some useful words and phrases you will hear when getting directions. |
| Jessi: derecha which means “to the right.” |
| Karen: izquierda which means “to the left.” |
| Jessi: And, derecho, which means “straight.” |
| Karen: Another useful one that’s used a lot is: Antes de (blank), which means “before the (blank).” |
| Jessi: And also - Después de (blank), which means “after (blank).” |
| Karen: Okay, let’s look at the examples we had in the dialogue. So, Sergio tells the student that he’s looking for the History Department. |
| Jessi: Busco el departamento de historia. |
| Karen: And the student says: |
| Jessi: Pasando la cafetería, a tu izquierda. |
| Karen: “Through the cafeteria to your left.” So, this pasando can either mean “through” or “passing by.” And luckily, that’s all Sergio needs to hear, right, because he says... |
| Jessi: Ya sé dónde. Gracias. |
| Karen: “Now I know where, thank you.” |
| Jessi: Listeners, keep these words and phrases in mind. They’ll really help you out if you’re lost and trying to get somewhere. |
Outro |
|---|
| Karen: Definitely. Okay, so Sergio found his way, it’s a happy ending. So, I think that’s going to do it for this lesson. Thanks everyone for listening. Until next time! |
| Jessi: Adiós. |
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